RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will hear former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s plea seeking suspension of his sentence in Al-Azizia reference on medical grounds on January 28.

A two-member judge bench comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar will take up the case.

The date was fixed after the counsel for Nawaz Sharif filed a petition in IHC on Saturday, seeking bail for his client as he is having some heart problem.

Sharif’s counsel Khawaja Haris filed the petition against December 24, 2018 verdict of an accountability court against his client in Al-Azizia reference.

A copy of the petition has also been sent to Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB), accountability court judge and Superintendent Kot Lakhpat Jail.

In the plea, the former premier requested that the accountability court’s verdict sentencing him be suspended till a decision was announced on his appeal against the jail term.

The sentence in Al-Azizia reference should be suspended and he should be granted bail on medical grounds against surety bond, the petition read.

Along with the petition, a medical report from the hospital dated January 17 has been attached.

A few days earlier, a team of doctors had conducted the medical examination of Nawaz at Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Blood samples of the former premier were sent to Jinnah Hospital and he had been taken to Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) for further tests. Three tests, including echocardiogram (ECG) and thallium, of the former premier were conducted at PIC and his medical reports showed that his heart was bigger in size than the normal.

In a tweet on January 21, Maryam Nawaz had said her father was unwell but the family was not informed about his medical condition.